‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Screenwriting Duo Returning for the Sequel

By Haleigh Foutch

6 months ago

The screenwriting duo that helped envision the MCU’s new Spider-Man for his first standalone film are set to return for the upcoming sequel. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Spider-Man: Homecoming scribes Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers are in final negotiations to pick up with Peter Parker on his next solo journey and pen the sequel to Sony and Marvel’s summer hit.

This is great news and a smart move on the studios’ part. Homecoming nailed the high school soap opera element at the heart of the best Spidey stories, and they managed to do it in the context of the larger MCU (while playing within the parameters of the Marvel/Sony deal) in a way that felt natural. They delivered the cheeky quips, the dogged goodness, and all the other quintessential Spidey traits and put him up against one of the best on-screen Marvel villains yet in Michael Keaton‘s Adrian Toombes. The report notes that Sony and Marvel are (wisely) looking to keep the creative team together and are already in talks with Jon Watts to direct again. And of course, Tom Holland is set to return as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Image via Sony Pictures

McKenna and Sommers have been keeping busy in recent years. The writer-producer duo cut their teeth in the world of TV comedies like American Dad and Community and they’ve earned healthy homes across studios in recent years, penning the scripts for The LEGO Batman Movie, Ant-Man and The Wasp, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.

Homecoming is still kicking along at the box office, both domestically where it came in at # 7 last weekend with another $2 million, and overseas, where it recently debuted in Japan and will finally arrive in the powerhouse Chinese market on September 8. Even without China’s box office, Homecoming is a victory for Sony and Marvel, earning a lot of love from critics, fans, and casual moviegoers, and yielding over $319 at the domestic box office and over $737 worldwide. Those numbers put it well above the last Spidey solo film, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which earned $202 million domestically and $708 worldwide, and the numbers will only continue to rise in the coming weeks.

Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 is scheduled to swing into theaters on July 5, 2019.